OSIN 

WVJ 


P*M. 

use. 


SYSTEMATIC  AND 
PROPORTIONATE 
GIVING 

FROM  AN  ADDRESS  BY  MISS 
MAY  D.  STRONG,  PRESIDENT 
OF  THE  LACK  AWA  N  N  A 
PRESBYTERIAL  SOCIETY 


WOMAN’S  BOARD  OF  HOME  MISSIONS 
OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 
156  FIFTH  AVENUE.  NEW  YORK  CITY 


Systematic  and  Proportionate 

Giving 


S  far  as  the  financial  side  of  Missions 


is  concerned,  systematic  and  pro¬ 


portionate  giving  on  the  part  of 


Christians  is  the  solution  of  the  whole 
question  of  empty  treasuries,  debts  and 
deficits,  and  utterly  inadequate  Christian 
benevolence. 

There  are  many  more  poor  than  rich  in 
the  world,  and  the  “many  littles  make  the 
much.”  The  people  of  moderate  means  are 
apt  to  think  their  gifts,  and  their  methods 
of  giving,  matter  little  ;  but  if  Christians 
of  moderate  means  could  be  induced  very 
generally  to  adopt  this  system,  we  could 
easily  dispense  with  the  so-called  princely 
gifts  of  the  few  rich  (if  it  were  neces¬ 
sary)  and  still  have  money  in  the  treas¬ 
ury.  Not  larger  gifts  from  the  rich  but  the 
increase  of  systematic  giving  from  the 
many  of  moderate  means,  or  even  poor, 
this  is  the  hope  of  the  Church  ! 


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What  is  systematic  and  proportionate 
giving?  It  is  having  a  well  defined  and  uni¬ 
formly  followed  method  of  appropriating 
funds  for  Christian  uses. 

Perhaps  this  definition  will  bear  a  word 
or  two  of  explanation. 

Well-defined ,  i.  e.,  not  “something”; 
not  “what  I  can  spare”;  not  “what  I 
happen  to  be  able  to  give  at  the  time”; 
but  a  certain  fixed  percentage. 

Uniformly  followed ,  i.  e.,  not  taking  the 
percentage  out  this  month  and  making  up 
our  minds  next  month  that  we  cannot  af¬ 
ford  it ;  not  tithe  this  source  of  income,  and 
not  another,  but  “uniformly  followed” 
all  the  year  around  and  the  whole  of  our 
income. 

Christian  uses ,  i.  e.,  such  things  as  are 
definitely  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  for  the 
hastening  of  His  kingdom,  a  gift  sacredly 
offered  unto  Him;  not  for  such  things  as 
we  may  do  for  others,  because  it  pleases 
us  to  be  kind;  nor  such  Christian  privileges 
as  we  may  pay  for,  and  where  it  may 
be  said  we  receive  a  certain  “quid  pro 
quo.” 

For  instance,  a  fair,  concert,  or  bazaar 
is  gotten  up  in  the  interests  of  some 
church  or  missionary  cause.  Shall  the 
money  one  may  spend  there  be  rightly 


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taken  from  our  tithes?  I  think  not.  A 
Y.  M.  C.  A  secretary  once  told  me  he  was 
obliged  to  give  up  the  concert  and  lecture 
course,  planned  in  order  to  provide  refin¬ 
ing,  elevating  recreation  in  the  town, 
because  people  who  bought  the  tickets 
chose  to  consider  they  had  made  their  an¬ 
nual  contribution  to  the  Association. 

The  added  idea  in  the  word  ‘proportion¬ 
ate”  means  that  the  sum  set  aside  shall 
uniformly  bear  a  certain  relation  to  the 
whole  amount  of  income.  Some  may  sav, 

„  ^7 

“  But  I  am  not  naturally  systematic  and  I 
don’t  enjoy  that  way  of  doing  things,  so 
why  should  I  not  just  give  spontaneously 
when  I  feel  like  it  and  as  I  can  afford  at  the 
time?”  But  giving  is  an  important  part 
of  our  Christian  service,  and  preparedness 
is  as  necessary  as  for  preaching  a  sermon 
or  teaching  a  Sunday-school  class. 

Let  me  give  a  decisive  reason  for  both 
system  and  proportion  in  our  giving. 

It  is  a  command.  Where  do  we  find  it  ? 
First  in  the  Old  Testament.  Leviticus 
27:30 — “And  all  the  tithe  of  the  land, 
whether  of  the  seed  of  the  land,  or  of  the 
fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the  Lord’s:  it  is  holy 
unto  the  Lord.”  Deuteronomy  16:17 — 
“None  of  you  shall  appear  before  me 
empty,  every  man  shall  give  as  he  is  able, 


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according  to  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  which  He  hath  given  thee.” 

God  claims  a  portion,  and  if  }rou  say, 
“  We  are  not  under  the  law  but  under 
grace,”  let  me  give  you  from  the  New  Tes¬ 
tament,  I  Cor.  16:2— “Upon  the  first  day 
of  the  week  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him 
in  store,  as  God  hath  prospered  him.”  At 
stated  times  (in  their  case  on  the  first  day) 
and  proportionate,  “as  God  hath  pros¬ 
pered.”  Again  in  II  Cor.  8:12 — “For  if  there 
be  first  a  willing  mind,  it  is  accepted  ac¬ 
cording  to  that  a  man  hath,  and  not  ac¬ 
cording  to  that  he  hath  not.”  Here  it  is 
commanded  that  a  man’s  gifts  shall  be  ac¬ 
cording  to  what  the  man  hath,  i.  e.,bear  a 
definite,  fixed  relation  to  the  whole  of  his 
income  or  possessions.  Hence  we  are  not 
“at  liberty”  in  this  matter.  There  is  a 
clear  Scriptural  command.  If  this  point 
is  proven  it  settles  the  question  of  our 
duty  ;  but  other  reasons  give  added  weight, 
and  we  may  notice  a  few. 

1.  This  method  saves  us  from  the  temp¬ 
tation  to  overspend  on  ourselves  and  so  be 
unprepared  for  giving.  The  money  is  put 
aside  for  God’s  special  use,  and  thus  a  line 
is  placed  beyond  which  personal  expendi¬ 
ture  must  not  transgress.  But  you  say,  Is 
it  not  a  higher  ideal  to  consider  it  all  as 


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His?  True  it  is  all  His,  but  with  our  evil, 
covetous,  self-loving  tendencies,  it  is  far 
more  apt  to  end  with  our  considering  it  so, 
rather  than  actually  making  it  so. 

2.  It  is  a  constant  reminder  of  our  stew¬ 
ardship.  We  are  but  entrusted  with 
another’s  goods,  and  there  is  an  account¬ 
ing  day  coming  when  we  shall  hear  our 
Lord  saying, “Give  an  accountof  thy  stew¬ 
ardship.”  It  is  a  very  great  help  to  our 
being  mindful  of  this. 

3.  We  shall  then  be  always  ready  for 
the  calls  of  those  servants  whom  God 
sends  constantly  among  His  people  to  re¬ 
ceive  of  the  fruits  of  His  vineyard,  and 
we  shall  be  in  no  danger  of  sending  them 
away  empty,  as  happens  far  too  often. 
You  remember  those  servants  said  finally, 
“Come,  let  us  kill  Him,  and  the  inheri¬ 
tance  shall  be  ours.”  Thus  they  finally 
came  utterly  to  repudiate  the  Master’s 
claim. 

4.  It  follows  naturally  that,  if  prepared, 
we  are  not  tempted  to  refuse  the  appeal  in 
favor  of  some  self-indulgence,  for  we  have 
renounced  all  claim  to  the  portion  set 
aside  and  thus  we  are  able  to  give  with 
joy,  “not  grudgingly  or  of  necessity,” 
but  “cheerfully,”  as  we  are  bidden  and 
so  become  the  kind  of  givers  whom 


“God  loveth!”  A  great  and  precious 
honor. 

But  what  proportion?  For  about  that 
we  have  not  an  iron  rule  now  as  had  the 
Jew.  He  tithed,  and  we  ordinarily  speak 
of  tithes  because  of  that  fact  and  because 
it  is  a  small  proportion  and  would  seem  to 
be  within  reach  of  all ;  but  as  the  richer 
Jews  gave  in  addition  large  free-will  offer¬ 
ings,  so,  while  all  of  us  may,  I  am  sure, 
start  with  the  tenth,  most  of  us  will  see  the 
privilege  and  responsibility  of  increasing 
the  proportion  “as  God  prospers  us. ’’ 
God  was  very  definite  with  the  Jews,  be¬ 
cause  the  race  was  (so  to  speak)  in  its 
spiritual  childhood,  but  in  this  day  of 
grace  and  greater  spiritual  maturity  He 
leaves  the  proportion  to  us.  One  wonders 
if  we  are  always  found  worthy  of  thus 
being  thrown  upon  our  honor. 

I  do  not  believe  unsystematic  Chris¬ 
tians  realize  how  little,  relatively,  they  do 
give.  A  man  or  woman  gives  a  large  check 
to  a  good  cause,  but  often  goes  many 
days  in  the  strength  of  it,  comfortably 
feeling  unusually  benevolent  and  failing 
to  realize  how  much  of  the  year  goes  bv 
before  another  follows.  We  shall  never 
realize  how  little  we  have  been  giving  until 
we  try  the  systematic  and  proportionate 


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method.  The  proof  of  this  is  in  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  those  who  adopt  it — that  they 
never  were  able  (?)  to  give  so  much  before! 

Was  any  one  exempt  in  the  old  days? 
Dent.  16:17,  18 — “None  of  you  shall  ap¬ 
pear  before  me  empty.”  “Every  man  shall 
give  as  lie  is  able.” 

Is  any  one  exempt  now?  I  Cor.  16.2 — 
“Let  every  one  of  you  lay  bv  him  in  store, 
as  God  has  prospered  him.”  II  Cor.  8:2 — 
Even  in  “their  deep  poverty.” 

H  ere  Paul  calls  attention  to  the  grace  of 
God  bestowed  on  these  Macedonian 
Churches,  so  that  in  their  “deep  poverty 
they  abounded  unto  the  riches  of  their  lib¬ 
erality.”  He  says  they  were  willing  “to 
their  power  and  beyond  their  power.”  Oh, 
that  God  might  see  this  spirit  in  all  His 
children  to-day! 

Let  me  mention  an  instance  known  to 
me.  In  a  Bible  class  is  the  wife  of  a  mine 
laborer,  whose  husband  brings  in  about 
fifty  dollars  a  month.  There  are  three 
children,  and  an  old  father  besides,  to  be 
maintained.  Soon  after  her  conversion, 
hearing  a  talk  on  systematic  giving,  its 
Scripturalness,  and  the  blessing  resulting, 
she  came  forward  and  asked  for  the  little 
mission  box  that  she  might  adopt  the  plan. 
The  husband  at  first  objected  absolutely. 


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He  said,  not  one  penny  of  his  money  should 
go  into  that  box.  But  she  pleaded  earn¬ 
estly,  promised  that  he  should  not  lack 
anything  to  which  he  was  accustomed,  and 
finally  he  consented  to  a  trial.  She  has 
kept  it  up  for  the  past  two  years.  Tempted 
often  by  strenuous  times  to  give  it  up, 
but  persevering  and  repeatedly  testifying 
to  its  blessing,  she  not  infrequently  lays 
upon  the  collection  plate  of  the  class  a  dol¬ 
lar,  and  sometimes  l}rings  fhe  teacher  two 
dollars,  with  the  words,  “Give  it  to  some 
one  who  needs  it  more  than  I  do.”  Al¬ 
ways  has  her  church  envelope  been  ready 
for  the  annual  collection  for  the  Boards, 
and  it  contains  more  than  many  members 
of  prominence  subscribe.  We  shall  never 
know  how  much  we  can  give  till  we  try 
the  systematic  way. 

In  Dr.  Broughton’s  church,  of  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  a  poor  illiterate  man,  newly  convert¬ 
ed,  adopted  the  plan  of  tithing.  At  the 
close  of  the  year  Dr.  Broughton  asked, 
“  How  did  you  like  it  ?”  “  Oh,  its  fine!”  he 
replied.  “Next  year  I  am  going  to  give  a 
twentieth.”  He  knew  the  Lord  and  the 
jov  of  giving  to  Him  better  than  he  knew 
fractions,  but  it  might  pay  us,  in  the  long 
run,  to  be  less  wise  in  our  way,  if  we  might 
be  more  wise  in  the  way  of  this  poor  man. 


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A  man  of  great  faith  and  very  large  gifts 
speaking  along  this  line  said  he  was  con¬ 
stantly  pushing  his  ideal  ahead  of  him, 
praying  for  help  to  give  more  and  more 
and  even  deciding  to  give  more  than  he  saw 
any  possible  way  of  doing;  throwing  him¬ 
self  upon  God  in  a  kind  of  challenge,  or 
“proving.”  Oh,  for  more  of  his  faith  and 
courage,  even  to  a  sort  of  holy  reckless¬ 
ness,  if  one  may  so  describe  it.  Was  this 
not  the  spirit  of  Mary,  who  poured  out  the 
whole  alabaster  box  in  what,  to  the  disci¬ 
ples,  seemed  a  reckless,  lavish  waste  ? 

Let  us  not  be  afraid  to  take  up  God’s 
challenge.  He  speaks  it  afresh  to  the 
world  to-day,  for  to-day,  more  than  ever, 
the  tithes  are  needed.  It  is  not  rash  or 
reckless  to  trust  Him.  He  is  pledged  to 
make  our  interests  His  care.  When  God 
commanded  all  the  Jews  to  appear  before 
Him  at  the  yearly  feasts,  He  anticipated 
their  very  natural  objection,  that  they 
could  not  thus  leave  fields  and  flocks  un¬ 
protected,  with  enemies  on  every  side,  by 
saying  in  substance,  that  He  would  attend 
to  that;  no  man  should  even  desire  their 
,  field  while  the}"  were  thus  obeying  Him. 
God  is  still  saying,  “  Bring  ye  all  the  tithes 
into  the  storehouse  and  prove  me  now 
herewith,  if  J  will  not  pour  you  out  a  bless- 


ll 


ing  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough 
to  receive  it.”  If  we. want  to  know  the  joy 
of  giving,  let  us  begin  to  do  it  “systematic¬ 
ally  and  proportionately.” 


No.  396  1st  Ed.  9-1908 


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